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Lot Essay
The attribution to Maratti was first suggested by Nicholas Turner, and supported by Manuela Mena, in the 1994 exhibition catalogue.
Recently, the latter suggested that the drawing was most likely executed in the 1690s, just before the artist's hand starts trembling and after a period in which he favoured red chalk as a medium. Although no composition showing this female figure is known today, the drawing could be a study for an allegorical figure on the right side of a much larger composition as the woman is looking up to the left.
We are grateful to Professor Ann Sutherland Harris and Dr Manuela Mena for their assistance in cataloguing this drawing and for endorsing (Sutherland Harris) and confirming (Mena) the attribution to Maratti on the basis of digital photographs.
Recently, the latter suggested that the drawing was most likely executed in the 1690s, just before the artist's hand starts trembling and after a period in which he favoured red chalk as a medium. Although no composition showing this female figure is known today, the drawing could be a study for an allegorical figure on the right side of a much larger composition as the woman is looking up to the left.
We are grateful to Professor Ann Sutherland Harris and Dr Manuela Mena for their assistance in cataloguing this drawing and for endorsing (Sutherland Harris) and confirming (Mena) the attribution to Maratti on the basis of digital photographs.